KUALA LUMPUR (May 9): The FBM KLCI remained muffled at mid-morning today, in line with the subdued regional markets.

At 9.59am, the FBM KLCI was down 0.22 points to 1,767.93.

The top losers included Time dotCom Bhd, DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (IWC), Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, British American Tobacco (M) Bhd, Genting Plantations Bhd, Ajinomoto (M) Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd and Kawan Food Bhd.

The actives included IWC, Globaltec Formation Bhd, NetX Holdings Bhd, Vivocom Intl Holdings Bhd, Berjaya Corp Bhd, PanPages Bhd, ManagePay Systems Bhd and Tiger Synergy Bhd.

The gainers included Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Tasek Corp Bhd, MNRB Holdings Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd and Notion Vtec Bhd.

Asian stock markets were subdued on Tuesday, taking their cue from a flat Wall Street, as investors searched for the next catalyst following France's presidential election, while oil inched higher on expectations OPEC supply cuts will be extended, according to Reuters.

The South Korean market is closed for Tuesday's presidential election, in which liberal Moon Jae-in is widely expected to win the presidency, following months of leadership vacuum since former President Park Geun-hye was removed in March on charges of bribery and abuse of power, it said.

Hong Leong IB Research said that in the US, markets may stay bullish after factoring French election outcome and corporate results reported last month.

"The Dow is likely to revisit 21,178-22,000 with the VIX index or fear index fallen to a 20-year low level.

"Similarly, stocks on the local bourse should remain resilient despite the uncertain Bandar Malaysia deal.

"Also, traders might be staying positive ahead of the Malaysian Prime Minister's visit to China next week on the Belt and Road forum. The FBM KLCI could trend slightly higher towards 1,770-1,780 over the near term," it said.